This post brought to you by DairyPure Milk. The content and opinions expressed below are that of Stuff Parents Need.

Fall is finally officially here! How’s the weather looking in your area? Here in east Tennessee the leaves are starting to change, and we’ve had a handful of days in the ’70s…just enough of a change to make me want to start making pumpkin EVERYTHING.

One of my favorite new ways to make use of this great super food has been, of course, to turn it into a delicious dessert. And true to my style, I like to keep my time in the kitchen down to a minimum. Why use a pie pan and 45 minutes to make a pumpkin pie, for example, when I can take a few key ingredients and a blender and have a pumpkin pie milkshake in just a few minutes? 🙂

Here’s what you’ll need to recreate this super yum treat!

2 1/4 cup DairyPure milk

4 bananas (frozen is ideal)

1 cup pumpkin puree

2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1/2 cup DairyPure heavy whipping cream

1 Tbsp sugar

2 graham crackers, crumbled

Combine all ingredients except for graham crackers, whipping cream and sugar in a blender and puree until smooth.

At this point, give your milkshake a taste. If you find the pumpkin flavor to be a bit overpowering, add 1 tsp vanilla extract and blend a bit more.

Pour the milkshake into 4 separate glasses and pop them in the freezer.

In a large metal bowl, combine DairyPure whipping and cream and sugar. Blend on your mixer’s highest setting to turn the mixture into whip cream. It takes about 3 minutes for it to thicken. Remember, you aren’t looking for peaks that are as stiff as a meringue!

Divide your whipped topping among your milkshakes, and then sprinkle graham crackers on top. An additional optional topping could be a sprinkle of cinnamon.

A critical component of a great recipe is great ingredients. I choose DairyPure milk for my family because of it’s exclusive 5 Point Purity Promise:

No artificial growth hormones (“No significant difference has been shown between milk derived from cows treated with the artificial growth hormone rbST and non‐rbST‐treated cows.”)

All milk is tested for antibiotics

Continuously quality tested to ensure purity

Only from cows fed a healthy diet

Cold shipped fresh from your local dairy

I care about these matters when it comes to the milk I am offering to my family. We are really happy with our choice, as the product tastes fantastic, be it by the glass, in our cereal, or even as a component of a special treat, like a pumpkin pie milkshake. Besides, cleanup is always easier when the thing you make gets entirely consumed. 🙂 Take a moment to Learn more about DairyPure; it might be the right choice for your family, too!

By now you have seen several examples on my blog of what #PumpkinCan do in your kitchen. It is an amazingly versatile super food that doesn’t need to be limited to a certain season of the year, nor does it need to be limited to desserts or sweet breads. I’ve shown you how to make curried pumpkin dip for a mid-afternoon snack, twice-baked potatoes with pumpkin for a sensational side dish at dinner, and I’ve showcased pumpkin energy squares, which are perfect for any time of day when you need a little boost.

And today I’ve got one seriously fancy way to dress up your bagel at breakfast. I surprised my family with this on a weekday morning and it put everyone in a great mood, because it felt like such a special treat (but it was SO easy to make! They don’t need to know that!).

Pumpkin and Goat Cheese Bagel with Sweet Bacon

Ingredients:

2 bagels, sliced into 4 halves

4 slices of bacon, cooked and crumbled

1/3 cup of LIBBY’S 100% Pure Pumpkin

1/3 cup goat cheese

1 Tbsp maple syrup

1 Tbsp powdered sugar (optional)

Begin the process by cooking your bacon. I personally cook bacon in the oven (line a baking sheet with raised edges with foil, placed no more than 8 sliced on each tray, and bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes). The end result is glorious and I don’t have to stand over a stove having bacon grease leaping out of the pan onto me. Everybody wins!

While your bacon is cooking, put together the pumpkin spread for the bagel. Simply add the goat cheese, LIBBY’S 100% Pure Pumpkin and maple syrup in a bowl and mix until well-combined. I mixed it by hand, but you could also use a mixer to make faster work of it.

All that’s left to do is to toast your bagels, apply the pumpkin-cheese spread, and then sprinkle bacon on top. I personally thought adding a sprinkle of powdered sugar on as a finishing touch was awesome (it made the bacon taste sweet!) but that’s an optional step. Bon appetite!

Be sure to take a moment to follow LIBBY’S Pumpkin on Twitter and tweet your favorite #PumpkinCan fact for a chance to win weekly prizes!

I’m sure between October and December, you consume a fair amount of pumpkin. Most Americans do, and that’s good, because pumpkin is an excellent source of Vitamin A and Beta Carotene. It’s also got lots of extra fiber. Basically, it’s a superfood.

So why do we only eat it for 3 months out of the year? True, pumpkins have a peak harvest season, which is in the fall, but you can find delicious, nutritious, Libby’s Pumpkin, on the grocery shelves all year long. And I want to show you a recipe I recently made that is going to turn pumpkin into a pantry staple for my family! These are AWESOME for a bar-type breakfast option. I personally cut a little square for myself during the mid-morning and mid-afternoon “slump” time. It gives me the boost I need to power through!

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl until thoroughly combined.

Place ingredients in a lightly greased 8×8 baking dish or 9 inch pie pan and bake for 20 minutes. Allow to cool for 5 minutes before cutting into squares and eating! Store energy boost squares in the refrigerator and enjoy for several days. FYI, your extra pumpkin can be added to oatmeal, smoothies, or portioned out and put in the freezer for later!

I absolutely love what Pumpkin Can do to help me feel energized throughout the day. What can it do for you?

Need some ideas to help you think outside of the box when it comes to pumpkin as an ingredient? I can help with that, and you very well could win something in the process!

Let’s help Libby’s launch a successful Orange Takeover! Please share this photo with your friends about what #PumpkinCan do! And don’t forget to use the hashtag! 🙂

Search around for some great recipes. Give pumpkin a try this spring and summer, and if you win the Vitamix, don’t tell me, because I”m going to be SUPER jealous! 😉 YOu can also follow Libby’s on Pinterest for more tempting pumpkin recipes!

Connect

Welcome!

Grab your beverage of choice (mine is iced coffee) and let's hang out for a spell! I'm Tiffany, and I've rambunctious little girls and a fierce desire to share any tip and trick I can find to make lives with little ones a bit less hectic and a lot more fun. [Read more...]